Game apparatus

ABSTRACT

A game board is provided having a plurality of identical playing fields in the form of circular recesses. Playing pieces insertable in said recesses are wedge-shaped simple unit fractional parts of circles having substantially the same diameter as said recesses. Said pieces are in sets corresponding respectively to one-eighth, one-sixth, one-fourth, one-third and one-half of the area of said recesses. Two spinners are provided, one associated with indicia consisting of a series of natural numbers for determining the number of pieces to be played at a turn, the other associated with two concentric sets of indicia containing the natural numbers 2, 4 and 8 and the numbers 2, 3 and 6, respectively, for determining the size pieces to be played.

United States Patent [191 Powell Feb. 18, 1975 GAME APPARATUS [75] Inventor: Jeffrey David Powell, Forest Hills,

22 Filed: May 24,1973

2] Appl. No.: 363,635

[52] US. Cl. 273/135 AC, 35/31 R, 35/31 D, 35/31 G, 35/72, 35/73, 273/135 R [51] Int. Cl. A63f 3/00, G09b 23/02 [58] Field of Search 273/135 R, 135 B, 130 R; 35/31 R, 31 G, 31 D, 33, 73, 72

2,705,843 4/1955 Hawkins 35/31 R 3,070,371 12/1962 Hearle 273/135 R 3,583,706 6/1971 Glass et a1 273/135 R Primary ExaminerPaul E. Shapiro Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Watson Leavenworth 1(e1ton & Taggart [57] ABSTRACT A game board is provided having a plurality of identical playing fields in the form of circular recesses. Playing pieces insertable in said recesses are wedge-shaped simple unit fractional parts of circles having substantially the same diameter as said recesses, Said pieces are in sets corresponding respectively to one-eighth, one-sixth, one-fourth, one-third and one-half of the area of said recesses. Two spinners are provided, one associated with indicia consisting of a series of natural numbers for determining the number of pieces to be played at a turn, the other associated with two c0ncentric sets of indicia containing the natural numbers 2, 4 and 8 and the numbers 2, 3 and 6, respectively, for determining the size pieces to be played.

4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTED FEB] 8W5 SHEET 10F 2 1 GAME APPARATUS The present invention relates to game apparatus, and, more particularly, to a game board and playing accessories adapted to afford both amusement and educational instruction.

Children often have difficulty learning the concept of fractions. It is axiomatic that effective teaching requires evoking the interest and attention of the pupil. Hence, it is a purpose of the present invention to provide an entertaining game to evoke such interest and attention while teaching the fundamental concept.

In a prior US. Patent, there is described a game having for its object the provision of both recreation and a contest of wits. Said patented game employs a game board provided with a playing field in the form of either a segment of a ring, a straight segment, a semicircular area, or some similar geometric shape, and corresponding playing pieces, all of which are based upon mathematical principles requiring that the playing area be a multiple of the area of the smallest playing piece, and that the larger playing pieces have areas which are multiples of the areas of the smallest playing pieces. A set of playing pieces for said game consists of one piece of each size with all sets being identical. According to the rules of said game, each contestant is allocated one of said sets of playing pieces. In the play of the game, the contestants alternately place a playing piece selected from their set in the playing area with the objective of being the first contestant to place the last piece needed to cover the complete playing area while at the same time preventing the opponent from accomplishing a similar purpose.

Said patented game is, as mentioned above, a game involving a contest of wits and is much too complicated to be used for teaching children of tender age the concept of simple fractions. It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a game which is better suited to the younger age group and which has all the elements essential to teaching fractions and the related concepts of numerator and denominator.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided game apparatus comprising in combination a game board having a plurality of identical playing fields of predetermined individual area. Also provided are a plurality of sets of playing pieces, the pieces within any one set being identical and havingfor each set respective areas equal to a different predetermined simple proper fraction of said playing field area. In addition, said pieces are shaped such that any combination of pieces whose total area equals said predetermined playing field area can be assembledto coincide with and completely fill one of said playing fields, Means also are provided for enabling each player at his turn to select by chance from said pieces to be played.

Theinvention will be better understood after reading the following detailed description of a presently preferred embodiment thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a game board embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a plurality of different size playing pieces representative of the sets of playing pieces used with the game board of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a board supporting a pair of spinners for use in conjunction with the playing pieces of FIG. 2 and the game board of FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawings, the game board is designated generally by the numeral 10 and is provided with a plurality of identical playing fields of predetermined individual area in the form of circular recesses 11. Fifteen such fields are provided in the board 10 of this exemplary embodiment. To enhance player interest, the game board 10 is provided with a stylized illustration of a clown 12 appearing to be juggling a group of balls with the latter being represented by the playing areas 11. Various sketches illustrative of various aspects of circus life illuminate the background of the circular recesses 11. Thesesketches, as well as the representation of the clown, are only exemplary and are not essential to the game proper.

The playing pieces shown in FIG. 2 are wedge-shaped simple unit fractional parts of circles having substantially the same diameter as that of said recesses 11 in the game board. As shown in FIG. 2, the wedge-shaped pieces 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17, correspond, respectively, to one-eighth, one-sixth, one-fourth, one-third and onehalf, of the circular area. Appropriate identifying numerical indicia are provided on each piece. It will be appreciated that these portions of a circle represent the basic elemental fractions. It also will be appreciated that any combination of said playing pieces the total area of which equals the area of the recess 11 in the game board can be assembled to fit within said recess and completely fill the same. It should be understood that each of the pieces 13 through 17 represent only one of a set of pieces of the same size. Preferably, a sufficient number of pieces within each set are provided with the game to insure that the recesses 11 in the game board 10 may be filled in all or nearly all possible combinations.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is illustrated a board 18 supporting a pair of conventional spinners I9 and 20. The spinner 19 is associated with indicia 21 consisting of a series of natural numbers. In this example, the numbers 1 through 4 and 8 are employed. Also associated with spinner 19 and indicia 21 is the legend 22 containing the word numerator.

The spinner 20 is associated as shown with two separate sets of indicia 23 and 24 on concentric circles. The inner circles 23 contains the natural numbers 2, 4 and 8, while the outer circle 24 contains the natural numbers 2, 3 and 6. There is associated with spinner 20 and indicia 23 and 24 the legend 25 consisting of the word denominator.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the wedge-shaped playing pieces of FIG. 2 are given a distinctive color distinguishing each set of pieces. For example, the pieces 13, 14,15, 16 and 17, may be colored, respectively, purple, blue, green, red and yellow. Referring again to FIG. 3, it will be observed that the numbers appearing in the indicia circles 23 and 24 associated with spinner 20 correspond to the denominators in the fractions printed on the wedge-shaped playing pieces of FIG. 2. In addition, it is preferred that the wedge-shaped sectors associated with the indicia within the circular areas 23 and 24 be of the same color as the corresponding wedge-shaped playing piece. As an example, the areas 26, 27, 28 and 29, in FIG. 3 would all be colored yellow to correspond with the color of the piece 17 in FIG. 2. In this manner, color association will help to identify the wedge-shaped playing piece that corresponds to the number selected by the spinner 20.

As presently contemplated, two separate games may be played with the apparatus which has been described above. One game employs playing pieces 13, and 17, while the other game employs playing pieces 14, 16 and 17. When it has been decided which game is to be played, the appropriate pieces are spread in view alongside the game board 10. After determining in any suitable manner which player will start, the players take turn spinning both the spinner l9 and the spinner 20. The number selected by the spinner 19 determines the number of pieces to be played while the number selected by the spinner 20 determines the size of the piece to be played, i.e., the set from which the playing pieces are to be selected. The player then selects the designated pieces from the adjacent stockpile and inserts them into any unfilled recess 11 on the board 10. A player may place all of his pieces in one circle, or he may distribute them in any manner he chooses. All pieces, however, must be inserted in the board, provided there are openings. Pieces which cannot be placed into the board must be returned to the stockpile. Once a piece is inserted into a given recess 11, it may not be removed therefrom.

There are various ways of scoring. A typical scheme awardspoints to the player who inserts the piece which completes a circle. If the circle is completed with pieces all of one color, i.e., pieces all of the same size,

the award is one point. If two colors or two different size pieces are used to fill the circle, the award is two points, and so on. v

Having described the game apparatus of the present invention, the various conceptual associations which can be' taught therewith should be readily apparent. The present invention has been described with reference to a presently preferred embodiment thereof. However, it is to be understood that changes may be made therein as will occur to those skilled in the subject art, and all such changes are contemplated which fall within the scope of the invention defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Game apparatus comprising in combination a plurality of identical playing fields of predetermined individual area, a-plurality of sets of playing pieces, the pieces within any one set being identical and having for each set respective areas equal to a different predetermined simple proper fractional unit of said playing field area, said pieces being shaped such that any combination of pieces whose total area equals said predetermined area can be assembled to coincide with and completely fill one of said playing fields, there being a sufficient number of pieces to fill all of said playing fields, and means for enabling each player at his turn to select separately by chance that one of said sets from which pieces are to be played and the number of pieces to be played from said selected set, said last mentioned means comprising a pair of chance devices, one of which is associated with indicia indicative of the number of pieces to be played, and the other of which is associated with two separate sets of indicia designating, respectively, playing pieces equal in area to a first and second set of said different fractional units of said playing field area, and said sets of playing pieces have indicia designating their respective different fractional unit areas.

. 2. Game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first set of different fractional units consist of the units one-eighth, one-fourth and one-half, and said second set of different fractional units consist of the units one-sixth, one-third and one-half.

3. Game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said playing fields each comprise a circular recess in the same diameter as said recesses.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PATENT NO. 1 3,866,919

DATED February 18, 1975 INVENTOR(S) Jeffrey David Powell It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 1, line 55, after "pieces" insert --the pieces--.

Column 4, line 11, before "pieces" insert -sa:i.d--; line 35, "samee" should read -same--.

Signed and sealed this 29th day of April 1975.

(SEAL) Attest C. MARSHALL DANN RUTH C. MASON Comissioner of Patents Attesting Officer and Trademarks 

1. Game apparatus comprising in combination a plurality of identical playing fields of predetermined individual area, a plurality of sets of playing pieces, the pieces within any one set being identical and having for each set respective areas equal to a different predetermined simple proper fractional unit of said playing field area, said pieces being shaped such that any combination of pieces whose total area equals said predetermined area can be assembled to coincide with and completely fill one of said playing fields, there being a sufficient number of pieces to fill all of said playing fields, and means for enabling each player at his turn to select separately by chance that one of said sets from which pieces are to be played and the number of pieces to be played from said selected set, said last mentioned means comprising a pair of chance devices, one of which is associated with indicia indicative of the number of pieces to be played, and the other of which is associated with two separate sets of indicia designating, respectively, playing pieces equal in area to a first and second set of said different fractional units of said playing field area, and said sets of playing pieces have indicia designating their respective different fractional unit areas.
 2. Game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first set of different fractional units consist of the units one-eighth, onE-fourth and one-half, and said second set of different fractional units consist of the units one-sixth, one-third and one-half.
 3. Game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said playing fields each comprise a circular recess in the surface of a game board, and said pieces are wedge-shaped fractional parts of circles having substantially the samee diameter as said recesses.
 4. Game apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said playing fields each comprise a circular recess in the surface of a game board, and said pieces are wedge-shaped fractional parts of circles having substantially the same diameter as said recesses. 